Ringing in the new year with an eye on prices

Holiday spirits are up but budgets are down, and that makes the celebratory month of December a challenge for gastronomes and party people. There are ways around that sky-high New Year's Eve price tag, especially if you head for places in their low seasons.

The White Barn Inn, a Relais & Châteaux property in the Maine tourist town of Kennebunkport, is priced for an elite clientele during summer, but is more affordable in winter. Simply forget about sun and sand. Pack a parka and enjoy the charms of this exceptional inn and dining room at discounted rates.

The White Barn's dining room, under the direction of executive chef Jonathan Cartwright, is the only AAA Five-Diamond and Mobil Five-Star restaurant northeast of New York City. Cartwright is planning a decadent dinner with dishes like truffle ravioli, pheasant with foie gras and his signature Maine lobster dish. During the second seating, the price includes unlimited Champagne for the entire evening. There will be a three-piece band, party hats, tiaras and noise makers.

Even the least expensive rooms at the White Barn Inn are divine. Try the Traditional Room, with its New England antiques, hand-painted furniture, plasma televisions and Hypnos mattresses, like those used by Britain's royal family.

If you have had a taste of the sublime White Barn Inn, liked it and want to stay in the area, consider an affiliated property. The Beach House Inn is a sumptuous mini-version of the White Barn with the added attraction of an oceanfront setting on the outskirts of Kennebunkport. Here, too, the decor is elegant, the rooms splendid and the ambience genteel.

Breakfast and afternoon tea are part of the deal, and New Year's Eve dinner will be served at a restaurant owned by the White Barn people, so you can expect top quality. Grissini's is a stylish northern Italian bistro that serves gourmet pizza and pasta, grilled chicken, hangar steak and lobster ravioli. The Dec. 31 gala will include an opera recital, lobster and shrimp risotto, grilled tenderloin and quails.

The best pastime at The Beach House Inn is snuggling into a chintz sofa and gazing out at the moody Atlantic. However, for adventurers, the inn is offering a Cold Weather Surfing Package with lessons on how to conquer the chilling ocean swells. You'll want that steaming afternoon tea afterward. It's served with chocolate chip cookies baked at the White Barn Inn.

Closer to home, Auberge Handfield creates charming, lively celebrations for Christmas and New Year's Eve with a soupçon of Old Quebec. The vintage inn on the Richelieu River is known for gourmet cuisine at relatively moderate prices, especially during winter, its low season.

Only a 40-minute drive from Montreal, the auberge is pure country - a century-old farmhouse with age-darkened knotty pine walls, a huge fireplace in the dining room, china cabinets filled with treasures and plates embossed with the Handfield crest.

"We call our holiday dinners réveillons - an old French word that really means late-night party," said Pierre Handfield, the third-generation owner. "We start in the afternoon with a ride on a horse-drawn sleigh and then warm up at a bonfire with hot chocolate or a shot of caribou."

Later, guests dress for cocktails, dinner and dancing to a one-man band. Handfield is definitely not stuffy: at midnight on Dec. 31, guests form a conga line and shimmy and shake through the kitchen, finishing off with a festive glass of sparkling wine.

For New Year's Eve, called the Soirée St. Sylvestre, executive chef Nicolas Simard is crafting a feast with delicacies like foie gras, lobster and filet mignon. The Christmas menu will feature standing rib roast, stuffed turkey with cranberry sauce, tuna or venison.

Brunch at Handfield is a big deal every Sunday, but especially during the holidays when the buffet will feature roast beef, leg of lamb and eggs Benedict. As a nod to the traditional Quebec cuisine with which Handfield built its reputation in the 1940s, brunch also includes tourtière, old-style meatballs and baked beans with maple syrup.

This isn't your grandmother's Handfield. It has evolved into a comfortable, unpretentious resort with 38 newly renovated rooms scattered throughout large cottages and a modern wing attached to Spa Les Thermes. Some rooms have river views, whirlpool tubs and fireplaces.

Prices: Mid-week Romantic Package starts at $260 per person, per night, double occupancy (Sunday to Thursday). Package includes breakfast, afternoon tea and port, and gourmet dinner (not valid on Dec. 30 or 31). The price is less for a two-night visit.

New Year's Package, Dec. 30 and 31: two nights from $752 per person, double occupancy, for a guest room, to $992 per person for a riverfront cottage. It includes full breakfast, afternoon tea and a gala New Year's Eve dinner with dancing to a band and Champagne.

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